Form finisher and bag for use therewith



Feb. 25, 1969 B. G. BLEVENS 3,429,489

FORM FINISHER AND BAG FOR USE THEREWITH Sheet Filed July 5, 1967 BERTRAMe. BLEVENS ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1969 B. 5. BLEVENS FORM FINISHER AND BAGFOR USE THEREWITH Sheet 2 of 5 Filed July 5, 1967 INVENTOR BERTRAM G.BLEVENS M) E SZwv/m ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1969 B. s. BLEVENS FORM FINISHERAND BAG FOR USE THEREWITH Filed July 5, 1967 Sheet INVENTOR BER'TRAM G.BLEVENS MAE SAM/9197K ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1969 B. G. BLEVENS 3,429,439

FORM FINISHER AND BAG FOR USE THEREWITH Filed July 5, 1967 Sheet 4 of 538 39 37 W as INVENTOR BERTRAM G. BLEVENS ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1969 B. G.BLEVENS FORM FINISHER AND BAG FOR USE THEREWITH Sheet Filed July 5, 1967INVENTOR BERTRAM G. BLEVENS ME. m/*4 ATTORNEY United States Patent3,429,489 FORM FINISHER AND BAG FOR USE THEREWITH Bertram G. Blevens,Louisville, Ky., assignor to W. M.

Cissell Manufacturing Company, Louisville, Ky., a corporation ofKentucky Filed July 5, 1967, Ser. No. 651,307 US. Cl. 22367 13 ClaimsInt. Cl. A41h /02 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A form finisher employing agas-pervious, flexible inflatable bag to which processing gases,including filtered air, under pressure are selectively supplied tofinish garments of various sizes and materials disposed in envelopingrelation upon the bag. The inflation of the bag portion which is notenveloped by the garment is controlled by the balance establishedbetween the gas pressure within the bag and the weight of a pair ofmasses supported by the bag and disposed exteriorly thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field 0 the invention The invention relatesto the treating of garments with steam and hot air to remove wrinklestherefrom and to finish the garment in its proper shape. An apparatus isprovided for selectively supplying the processing gases to an inflatablebag on which the garment is disposed, and at appropriate pressures andfor appropriate lengths of time. The bag itself is so constructed as tocooperate with an adjustable storage ring of the appaartus in effectingthe storage of bag material not required for a given size of garment,and to cooperate with a pair of masses, the weights of which serve toestablish a balance with the pressure of a gas within the bag, therebyto effect a self-regulating action with respect to the maximum size towhich portions of the bag can distend during the finishing of a garmentof given size.

Description of the prior art Conventional apparatus as illustrated by mycopending application Ser. No. 485,338 filed Sept. 7, 1965, now PatentNo. 3,332,588 either employs a storage ring interiorly of the bottomportion of the bag in conjunction with manipulatable means for adjustingthe peripheral size to which the bag may inflate or may employ a weightdisposed interiorly of the bag and adapted to restrain the peripheralexpansion of the bag as a whole and as taught by the patents of Richa etal. 2,459,962; Locke et al. 2,378,565; and Petzold et al. 2,986,312. Itis generally recognized, however, that in order to prevent belling ofthe bag and the undesirable flaring of the lower edge of the garmentbeing processed, the maximum diameter of the inflated bag in itsportions which are not enveloped by the garment should not substantiallyexceed the maximum diameter of the adjacent upper portion of theinflated bag, and that apparatus such as exemplified by the abovepatents provides anly a partial solution to this problem. It is anobject of my invention to provide a form finisher in which the use ofmanipulatable, bag-attached means for regulating the peripheral size ofthe bag is no longer required, and in which the size of the inflated bagis self-regulated while at the same time avoiding the belling effect. Inaddition, it is a purpose of the invention to provide for an independentsizing of the bag to each garment at the start of the finishingopera-tion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a form finisher and tothe bag employed therewith and embodies a bag construction enclosing aring member adapted to pay out bag material as needed, together with apair of externally suspended masses of substantially equal weightafiixed to one or more draw strings acting to collapse the bagperipherally thereof in opposition to the pressure of processing gaseswithin the bag. The filtered air supplied to the bag from a blower iscontrolled by a damper which is adjusted to its proper settingcorresponding to the sizing of the bag to a particular garment at thebeginning of each finishing operation. An electrical circuit providesfor timed supply of air and of steam. A multi-purpose manually operablelever assembly adjusts the damper setting; starts the operating cycle;serves to cancel the cycle of operation; and also serves to start thesupply of steam when such lever assembly is moved in its prescribeddirections.

Among the objects of the invention are the provision of compactly housedassembly of mechanical parts; the provision of an improved form finisherbag and frame for supporting the bag and a storage ring; and theprovision of an improved control means for the operator embodyingelectrical circuitry which permits the supplying to the bag of airalone, of air and steam simultaneously, or of steam followed by air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects of the invention will bemore apparent when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the form finisher apparatus with partsbroken away, and with the bag in a collapsed wrinkled position.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the stationary housing of theapparatus with the rotatable form removed and with parts broken away,and with the removable shroud indicated in dotted lines.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the housing showin in FIG. 2 with parts brokenaway and with the steam column shown in section and with the shroudindicated in dotted lines.

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the housing shown in FIG. 2 with thefilter removed but with the shroud in place.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the inner frame of the form with thebag removed and with the storage ring in its lowermost position.

FIG. 6 is a schematic control diagram of the electrical circuit for theapparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a bag embodying the invention andshowing the normal relative positions of the storage ring and of thepair of masses when the bag has no garment thereon.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic View of a portion of the bag enveloped by ashort garment and showing the relative positions of the ring and pair ofmasses during the finishing of that garment.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of the bag enveloped by along garment and showing the relative positions of the ring and pair ofmasses during the finishing of that garment.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view to a larger scale showing a portion ofthe bag construction and draw strings, and

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the closure plate for the casing andindicating in dotted lines the mounting of electrical components for thecontrol circuit of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2,a compact apparatus in which the invention may be embodied includes astationary housing, a portion of which is covered by a removablefilter-supporting shroud having an open rear end 11. Supported upon thefloor 12 of the housing is a blower scroll having side walls 13, 14 withopenings therein through which air is drawn by a blower 15 driven byelectrical motor 16. The motor-blower assembly may conveniently be ofthe double entry type P906 HPIlOO SWDD available from Morrison Products,Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, and may be supported as a. unit by means of abracket harness 17 mounted upon the wall 13 of the scroll.

Air discharged from the blower passes through an interior duct boundedby wall extensions 18, 19 in which a damper 20 is pivotally mounted. Aform finisher base assembly indicated generally at 21 includes agenerally circular wall 22 surrounding floor 23 and merging into sidewalls 24, 25 which extend toward the blower scroll and which areattached to cover plate 26. As will be noted from FIG. 3, walls 24, 25lie outboard of the inner duct walls thus to provide longitudinallyextending spaces for enclosing elements later to be described. A housingsection having a cover portion 27, side walls 28, 29 and inturned endwalls 30, 31 surrounds the inner duct and confines air and steam used inthe finishing operation.

Mounted upon the blower scroll is a hollow closed casing having agenerally vertical rear wall 33, side walls 34, 35 and an inclined frontclosure plate 36 serving as a mount for various control elements aslater to appear. These side walls provide a mounting for an oscillatableand longitudinally slidable control shaft 37. The ends of this shaftterminate inboard of the side walls of the shroud 10, but by means ofhandle extensions 38, 39 detachably secured to the respective ends ofthe shaft and passing through holes in that shroud, the shaft canreadily be manipulated with the shroud in place. The interior of thisshroud, moreover, is provided with a peripheral framework 40 (FIG. 2)adapted to support a conventional fiat filter 41 so that all airentering the apparatus is filtered before reaching the blower. Thefilter preferably is disposed above an upwardly extending plate 42attached to the floor 12 and providing a support for a connection box 43into which electrical lines are directed.

Attached to the control shaft 37 is a multi-purpose lever, one arm 44 ofwhich is connected to a wire 45 housed in a flexible tube 46 mounted onthe walls 34 of the casing and passing through the end wall of thehousing section. The other end of this wire is connected to an arm 47rigidly afiixed to the shaft of damper 20 with the result that fullmovement of either of the handles 38, 39 in the direction indicated by A(FIG. 2) will effect a closing action of the damper and movementindicated by the direction B will open that damper. A tension spring 48anchored at one end upon the casing wall 34 and at the other end uponthe arm 49 of the lever serves to oppose any additional opening of thedamper, due to the flow of air under pressure, after the bag has beensized to the garment.

The base assembly includes the conventional hollow steam column 50mounted upon pad 51 above the floor 23 and into the lower portion ofwhich live steam is conducted from steam supply pipe 52 after traversinga helical pipe 53 having radiating fins 54. Condensate collecting in thesteam columns passes through the steam return pipe 55 which is connectedto a lower portion of the column and which is at a lower elevation thanthe steam supply pipe, as best shown in FIG. 4. The upper end of thesteam column provides a support 56 for the form finisher frame later tobe described, and includes a solenoid-operated valve 57 for ventingsteam from the column. This valve, which is biased to normally closedposition, is opened by downward movement of rod 58 which is connected atits lower end to one arm 59 of a bellcrank, the other arm 60 of which isconnected to an elongated rod 61. This rod 61 extends through wall 30 ofthe housing section and is connected at its distal end to the core ofsolenoid coil 62 mounted on the floor of the housing adjacent plate 42.

By means of a suitable fitting 65 attached to steam return pipe 55,condensate collecting therein is forced through a small diameter tube 66and into the top of a receiver 67 mounted on the back wall 33 of thecasing, as best shown in FIG. 4. An elongated hose 68 with a generousamount of slack is connected to a lower portion of this receiver and toa conventional spray gun 69 (FIG. 1) which is adapted to rest above anaperture for that hose as provided in the shroud 10, and to be pulledoutwardly by the operator when spraying of a garment is desired. It willfurther be noted that the steam pipes 52, 55 are supported in the rearwalls 31 of the intermediate housing portion and in the plate 42 andthat when the shroud 10 is in place those pipes are hidden and cannottouch an operator performing his duties at the machine. Moreover, themechanism for operating the damper, as well as the solenoid operatedmechanism, likewise are covered when the shroud is in place. Inaddition, air passing through the filter flows into contact with thereceiver 67 and assists in condensing any steam passing thereinto.

As indicated in FIG. 2, the wall 22 of the base assembly is providedwith a circular recess 70 surrounding its upper opening and in which asuitable gasket 71A is disposed. This gasket serves to seal the bottomsurface of the plate 71 of the rotatable frame (FIG. 5) of the finisherform and as now to be described. In contrast with conventionalstructures and due in large part to the bag construction hereindisclosed, the frame is characterized by its simplicity and includes theannular plate 71 having a vertical annular wall 72 extending upwardly asuitable distance, for example about thirteen inches, to accommodate thebag storage and within which wall the processing fluids may pass fromthe base assembly into the bag. Upwardly extending rear and frontmembers, 73 and 74 respectively, are rigidly afixed to the upper portionof the annular wall and above a circular groove 75 therein which isemployed in the fastening of the bag. At their upper ends these membersare rigidly afiixed to a shoulder and neck form generally shown at 76and preferably of the type disclosed in Richterkessing Patent No.3,033,429. A wide crossbrace 77 having a suitable cup 78 for supportingthe frame upon the support 56 of the steam column, rigidly joins themembers 73, 74, and a pair of inclined braces 79, 80 spaced from eachother, join the front member 74 to the crossbrace 77. A togglearrangement comprising a pair of spaced arms 81, 82 pivoted at one endon a pin 83 extending between the inclined braces is adapted to supporta pair of downwardly extending rods 84, 85 which are pivotally connectedat their lower ends to diametrically opposite sides of the storage ring86. A central pin 87 extending between the arms 81, 82 provides oneanchor for a pair of tension springs 88, 89 which are suitably anchoredat their other ends to a lower pin 90 extending between a pair ofspacers 91, 92 joining the lower end of the front member 74 to wall 72.

Afiixed to wall 72 immediately above the bottom plate 71 is a frontbracket 94 adapted to support a detachable front clamp assembly 95(FIG. 1) and which may be of the type disclosed in Richterkessing Patent2,948,443 and provided with an adapter 96 which serves to engage withand to disengage from the bracket 94. A similar rear bracket for a rearclamp assembly may also be provided. Also, as seen in FIG. 1, a pair ofdiametrically located shields 97 and 98 for the suspendedbag-sizing-control masses are rigidly attached to the wall 72 below thelowermost position occupied by the storage ring 86. An upwardlyextending handle 99 aifixed to the shield 97 is provided for ease inmanually rotating the form. Both the clamp assembly 95 and this handleare 50 mounted that complete rotation can be effe ted withoutinterference with shroud 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 10, a bag 100 which may comprise nylon orsimilar gas-pervious material includes a bodice portion 101 with armopenings 102, 103 for passing air into the sleeves of garments and forreceiving extensions of the neck and shoulder element of the frame. Thebag also includes front and rear internal Suspender portions supportedupon that neck and shoulder element and attached at their lowers ends tothe bag by stitch lines 104 adjacent to the waist of the bag. At itslower end the bag includes a tubular cloth section, herein called apiping, and in which a tie string 105 is enclosed and which is adaptedto be placed in the groove 75 after the storage ring is manually liftedout of the way during assembly of the form. As indicated by FIG. 5lifting of ring 86 causes the toggle arms 81, 82 to pivotcounterclockwise about pin 83 and when the spring anchor pin 87 passescenter, the springs are effective to hold the ring upwardly and topermit the tie string 105 to be secured in place. Thereafter, the ringmay be grasped from the exterior of the bag and lowered into its normalposition in contact iwth the bag as shown in FIG. 7. As a significantfeature, the force exerted by the ring in holding the lower end of thebag against belling out due to pressure of gases within the bag,decreases as the ring is moved upwardly. It will be noted that as thering and its suspension rods 84, 85 rise, the tension force of thesprings 88, 89 increases, but a simultaneous reduction in the effectiveleverage between pins 83 and 87 also occurs. Thus the shape acquired byan inflated bag above its contact with the ring must be regulated byother means and it is .a purpose of the invention to provide a simpleand effective means for satisfying this requirement.

As best shown in FIG. 10, the bag is provided with an upper interiorperipheral piping in two sections 106, 107 each extending substantiallyhalf way around the bag and terminating adjacent a pair of grommets inthe opposite sides of the bag, one such grommet 108 being shown.Disposed within the respective pipings and grommets is a pair ofdrawstrings 109, 110 of equal length and which extend downwardly on theexterior of the bag and are attached at their lower ends to two masses111, 112 of substantially equal weights. As an example, the upper pipingmay be located about 29 inches below the top of the frame and willnormally be covered by a short jacket being processed on the form.

Similarly, a central piping in two sections 113, 114 encloses anotherpair of drawstrings 115, 116 passing through similar grommets, one ofwhich is shown at 117. These drawstrings are of equal lengths but areshorter than drawstrings 109, 110 and are attached at their ends to therespective masses 111, 112. Following the above example, the centralpiping may be located about eight inches below the upper piping and willnormally be covered by a full length garment, such as an overcoat.

In addition, a lower piping in two sections 118, 119 encloses a thirdpair of drawstrings 120, 121 passing through grommets, one of which isshown at 122. These drawstrings likewise are of equal length but areshorter than drawstrings 116, 117 and are attached at their ends to therespective masses 111, 112. As in the above example, the lower pipingmay be located about seven inches below the central piping and normallywill not be covered by the garment.

As will now be evident, the shape desired for an inflated bag before thegarment is placed thereon'may be determined by the choice of lengths ofthe upper, central, and lower drawstrings since these drawstrings sharea common loading of the masses 111, 112 and since the pressure of airwithin an inflated bag will lift the storage ring 86 and dispensesufficient bag material until the respective drawstrings become taut.For convenience, this arrangement is defined as means forself-regulating the expanded size of the bag, and results in theavoidance of the belling of a garment while being processed on themachine.

When air under pressure is supplied to the bag shown in FIG. 8 with arelatively short garment thereon, and in the manner later to bedescribed, the lower edge 131 of the garment usually will envelop theupper piping and the resistance to fiow of air through both the garmentand the bag will be greater than the resistance through the bag alone.Accordingly, the bag tends to distend laterally to a greater extentbelow the edge 131 of the garment and drawstrings 109, 110 become slack.As this occurs the central drawstrings 116, 117 and the lowerdrawstrings 120, 121 then share the entire weight of the masses 111, 112which meanwhile have been lifted and displaced outwardly. A balancing ofair pressure against the weight of the masses thus takes place and whichnot only limits the bag displacement but which also is entirelyself-regulating and requires no manipulation on the part of theoperator.

Similarly, when a full length garment as seen in FIG..9 is beingprocessed, its lower edge 141 usually will envelop both the upper andcentral pipings, but not the lower piping. Accordingly, each of theupper and central drawstrings become slack and the lower drawstrings120, 121 support the entire weight of the masses and prevents belling ofthe garment. Meanwhile, these masses have been lifted and displaced evenfurther, but, however, are still confined within the shields 97, 98.

As will be understood, the bag with its means for selfregulating itsexpanded size may be used on various machines in which air and steam aresupplied under selective controls. In the present invention a controlmechanism and an electrical system as best shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6 and 11is employed. The shroud 10 is pro vided with a pivoted panel which whenopened exposes the closure plate 36 (FIG. 2) on the sloping frontsurface of the housing above the blower. This closure plate (FIG. 11)mounts on its inner face a conventional air timer 151, steam timer 152and sequence switch 153, the adjustments for which are manually madefrom the outer face of that closure plate. A panel 154 extendingnormally to the closure plate within the confines of the casing servesto mount the conventional relays indicated in FIG. 6. On the inner faceof the closure plate centrally thereof the steam switch 159 for startinga selected cycle of operation is mounted and is adapted to be operatedwhen a cam 160 carried by shaft 37 is dislodged from contact with thecam follower of that switch. This shaft is centered by means ofcompression springs 161, 162 interposed between the cam and the innerwalls of the casing as best shown in FIG. 4. Plate 36 at one sideincludes a section 163 extending beyond the casing Wall 35 and mountingan air switch 164 adapted to be actuated by an arm 165 rigidly attachedto shaft 37 and when that shaft is fully rotated in the direction A ofFIG. 2 by the multi-purpose lever assembly.

The operation of the apparatus as above described may now be noted froma study of FIG. 6. Assuming that a garment is in place upon the bag, theoperator may employ various procedures in processing of that garment. Ifit is desired merely to supply heated air thereto, moving either ofhandles 38, 39 fully in direction A closes the air switch 164 afterwhich a suitable movement of those handles in direction B opens thedamper 20 the necessary amount to size the bag to the garment. Whenswitch 164 closes, a circuit is made from line 170, closed switch 164,conductor 171, the coil 156A of a ratchet-type relay, herein called amain relay, and return line 172. This temporary circuit causes contacts156 to close and to establish a holding circuit from line 170, normallyclosed switch 173 of the air timer, closed contacts 156, normally closedcontacts of a second steam relay 157, the blower relay coil 155A, andreturn line 172. This holding circuit remains operative after thehandles are moved to size the bag and after the temporary circuit isbroken. When relay coil 155A is energized, the blower relay contacts 155then close and a circuit is made through conductor 174, blower motor 16,and return line 172. At the fame time a shunt circuit is being madethrough conductor 175, air timer motor 176 and return line 172. Ifnothing further is done by the operator, hot air will be supplied to thegarment until the air timer runs its cycle after which timer switch 173interrupts the circuits to stop the blower. Moreover, contact 182 of theair timer switch operates coil 156A of the ratchet relay to reopencontact 156 thereof, thus to inactivate the circuit. In addition, if theoperator desires to interrupt the supply of air before the timer runsits course, moving the handles in direction A to reclose switch 164 willcause the ratchet relay coil 156A to reopen contacts 156 and tointerrupt the blower circuit.

Normally, however, the finishing of a garment requires steam to besupplied to the bag. The present invention provides alternative cyclesby means of which this can be done depending upon the setting of thesequence switch 153. In the first alternative wherein steam is suppliedfollowed by a timed supply of air, the operator closes switch 164 andsizes the bag to the garment and promptly thereafter pushes either ofhandles 38 or 39 axially of shaft 37. This movement, as will be seenfrom FIG. 4 causes steam switch 159 to close whereupon circuits are madefrom the closed contacts 156, through closed switch 159 and steamsolenoid coil 62 to return line 172, and through conductor 178 and steamrelay coil 179 to return line 172. When coil 179 is energized thecont-acts of first steam relay 158 close and a circuit also is madethrough the steam timer switch 180 and the steam timer motor 181. Whencoil 179 is energized it also serves to open the normally closed secondsteam relay contacts 157 and temporarily breaks the circuit to theblower relay for the motor 16.

After the steam timer then runs its cycle, switch 180 reopens and sincethe switch 159 also is open, the respective circuits to the solenoid 62,to the steam timer motor 181, and to the steam relay coil 179 also areinterrupted. Deenergizing of relay coil 179, however, restores the relaycontacts 157 to their normally closed position and the above-describedcircuits to the blower relay coil 155A and to the air timer motor 176are reestablished whereupon the blower motor 16 again i energized andwill run until the air timer completes its cycle at which time theswitch 182 closes on its upper contact and energizes the ratchet relaycoil 156A which then opens relay contacts 156.

In the second alternative in which air and steam are to be suppliedsimultaneously, the sequence switch 153 is first moved to its closedposition in order to provide a shunt holding circuit for the air timerand blower motor. Thereafter the operator closes switch 164, sizes thebag, and pushes shaft 37 axially. In thi case, circuits are madesimultaneously through the blower motor 16, the air timer motor 176, thesteam timer motor 181, the steam relay coil 179, and the steam solenoid62. Should the operator desire to employ air alone following the supplyof air and steam jointly, he then merely closes switch 164 as abovedescribed, sizes the bag, and omits any further axial shifting of shaft37.

As will be noted from the foregoing, the invention is characterized bythe fact that for each garment being processed the operation begins at astandard point, namely the movement of the handles 38, 39 to a positionat which switch 164 is closed and that at such standard point the damper20 is substantially closed. Thereafter, the bag is sized to the garmentby movement of the handles so as to open the damper to the proper degreecommensurate with the size, material, and degree of wear upon thegarment. After being sized, the bag, due to its self-regulating meansfor controlling its expanded size, does not bell out under the garment.

Having thus described my invention by reference to one preferredembodiment of the same, it will be understood that the invention may -beembodied in other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A form for treating garments comprising an inflatable, gas-perviousbag having means at its upper end for engaging a supporting meanswhereby the bag may be suspended, said bag having an open lower end intowhich processing gases under pressure may be selectively sup plied, anda pair masses of substantially equal weight suspended by a flexibledrawstring means engaging an intermediate portion of the bag between itsends, the ends of said drawstring means being connected to therespective masses externally of said bag.

2. A form as defined in claim 1 wherein said drawstring means comprisesa pair of strings of substantially equal lengths enclosed in a pipingperipherally disposed within said bag and with said strings passingthrough openings at the diametrically opposite sides of said bag.

3. A form as defined in claim 2 wherein said drawstring means comprisesa plurality of pairs of strings respectively enclosed in pipingsperipherally disposed within said bag at different elevations in saidbag, each of said pairs of strings being of difierent length from theother pairs and passing through opening at diametrically opposite sidesof the bag, the strings within each pair being of substantially equallengths and with all of said strings being attached at their ends to therespective masses and adapted to share the effort of lifting of saidmasses when said bag is inflated without a garment thereon.

4. A form as defined in claim 3 wherein the piping for an upper pair ofsaid strings is located at an elevation on said bag which is above thelower edge of the garment and the piping for a lower pair of saidstrings is located at an elevation on said bag below said lower edge ofthe garment thereby to shift to the lower pair of strings the eflfort oflifting said masses and thereby to restrain the expansion of said bagbelow the lower edge of the garment.

5. A form as defined in claim 3 wherein said drawstring means comprisesan upper, a central, and a lower pair of strings enclosed incorresponding pipings and with the central piping being located fartherfrom the upper piping than from the lower piping.

6. A form for treating garments including a frame adapted to besupported at its lower end and having an annular lower wall, a generallyvertical front member and a generally vertical rear member, said membersbeing afiixed at their lower ends to said wall, and a neck and shoulderelement joining said members at their upper ends; an inflatable,gas-pervious bag supported at its upper end on said neck and shoulderelement and affixed at its lower end to the periphery of said 'walladjacent the top of said wall, a pair of masses of substantially equalweights suspended by a flexible drawstring means engaging anintermediate portion of said bag between its ends, the ends of saiddrawstring means being connected to the respective masses externally ofsaid bag; an annular ring mounted for sliding movement vertically at theouter surface of said wall and disposed within said bag in slidingcontact therewith, said ring being adapted to rise under the pullexerted by said bag a said bag expands under pressure of gases enteringthe same, and spring means mounted upon said frame and adapted to holdsaid ring at its lowermost position when said bag is deflated.

7. A form as defined claim 6 including toggle means pivotally mounted atone end upon said frame and attached at the other end to said ring andat an intermediate point to said spring means, whereby as the ring risesunder the pull of said bag, the opposition of said spring means torising movement of said ring progressively decreases.

8. A garment finisher having an inflatable, fiuid-pervious bag, a baseassembly including means for directing steam: and heated air into saidbag, a frame mounted on said assembly and supporting said bag, a steamradiator in said base assembly, a valve for releasing steam from saidradiator into said bag, a solenoid for controlling said valve, a steamsupply line and a steam return line connected to said radiator, ahousing supporting a blower, a motor for driving said blower, an airduct for leading air under pressure from said blower to said baseassembly, a damper in said duct, a shroud enclosing said housing andsteam lines and having a rearwardly facing open end, a filter mounted insaid shroud and through which filtered air passing to the blower isdirected, a manually operable oscillatable and axially movable controlshaft mounted on said housing and having handle means externally of saidshroud, a mechanical connection from said shaft to said damper andadapted to close said damper when said shaft is rotated in one directionand to open the damper when the shaft is rotated in the oppositedirection, said connection being enclosed by said shroud, and electricalcircuit means including a switch for starting said motor when said shaftis rotated to its full extent in said one direction and a switch forenergizing said solenoid when said shaft is shifted axially, saidelectrical circuit means being enclosed by said shroud.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein a separate handle is affixedto each end of said shaft and said shaft is adapted to close saidsolenoid switch when shifted axially in either direction.

10. In a garment finisher having an inflatable, gaspervious bag, a baseassembly including means for directing steam and air into said bag, aframe mounted upon said assembly and supporting said bag, a blower, amotor for driving said blower, an air duct for leading air underpressure from said blower to said base assembly, a damper in said duct,a steam radiator in said assembly for heating air passing into said bag,a valve for releasing steam from said radiator into said bag andcontrolled by a solenoid; the improvement comprising a manually andsequentially movable control means including an electrical circuit tosaid motor and to said solenoid and a mechanical connection to saiddamper, said control rneans during its initial movement to start saidmotor also moving said damper to substantially closed position byinteraction with said mechanical connection and after said motor hasstarted and prior to supplying steam to said bag being free to open saiddamper by means of said mechanical connection in order to size the bagto the garment with the air supplied from the activated blower, andthereafter by a subsequent movement without disturbing the dampersetting being adapted to energize the solenoid.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said electrical circuitincludes an air timer, an air switch adapted to be closed during saidinitial movement of said control means and serving to energize said airtimer and said blower motor simultaneously, and a main relay adapted toclose and to establish a holding circuit to said air timer and to saidblower motor following reopening of said air switoh during the sizing ofthe bag, and to interrupt the circuits for cancellation of the cycleupon re-closing of said air switch.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said electrical circuitincludes an air timer, an air switch adapted to be closed during saidinitial movement of said'control means and serving to energize said airtimer and said blower motor simultaneously, a steam timer, a steamswitch adapted to be closed during said subsequent movement of saidcontrol means, a main relay adapted to close and to establish a holdingcircuit to said airtimer and to said blower motor following reopening ofsaid air switch during the sizing of the bag, a first steam relayadapted to close following the closing of said steam switch and toreopen following the deenergization of said steam timer, and a secondsteam relay adapted to open the holding circuit to said air timer and tosaid motor upon energization of said first steam relay and toreestablish the circuit to said air timer and to said motor upondeenergization of said first steam relay.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said electrical circuitincludes an air timer, an air switclh adapted to be closed during saidinitial movement of said control means and serving to energize said airtimer and said blower motor simultaneously, a steam timer, a steamswitch adapted to be closed during said subsequent movement of saidcontrol means, a main relay adapted to close and to establish a holdingcircuit to said air timer and to said blower motor following reopeningof said air switch during the sizing of the bag, a first steam relayadapted to close following the closing of said steam switch and toreopen following the reenergization of said steam timer, and a sequenceswitch movable between open and closed positions and when in said closedposition establishing a shunt circuit to said air timer and to saidblower motor during the energization of said steamtimer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,533,76-1 12/1950 Brenner et al.223 2,948,443 8/1960 Richterkessing et al. 223-67 3,006,516 10/ 19 61Richterkessing 22370 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

